Why Do I Run?

This week, I'm going to take a look into more of the mental and emotional side of running, and in particular explore one of the primary reasons that running has become such a fixture in my life.

There are a number of reasons why I run, and many of them I have mentioned in my previous blogs. I enjoy the camaraderie that I experience with my running partners. I appreciate the benefits to my health and physical fitness. And I also love setting goals and striving to better my times; it helps fill a competitive void in my life that was created when I stop playing team sports.

All of those are great reasons to run, and I'm sure many other runners share those and could list a number of additional reasons. I am going to take some time now to delve into one more, and this one is more of a feeling. In order to properly do it justice, I need to provide some background.

When I ran my first Tely 10, I did it on only 3 weeks of training. I was inspired to run due to a fitness transformation that my sister had undertaken, and I was fortunate that I was in good enough physical shape to be able to run the race with little preparation. I finished the race in a respectable time, and I was happy to be able to share the experience with my family. However, there was a strange feeling at the finish line: guilt.

I knew how much work those around me had put in to completing the race, and I kind of felt like I had cheated the system in a way. I had enjoyed the small amount of training I did, and I enjoyed the race, but I also knew I hadn't given it anywhere near my best. Shortly after the race, I decided that I wanted to change that feeling, and I registered for the Cape to Cabot that October.

Over the next 3 months, I trained like a runner. I ran 4-5 times a week, I did hill work, and when the day of the race came I felt properly prepared. I covered the 20 km from Cape Spear to Signal Hill, and I will never forget the feeling I had when I crossed that finish line. It was almost overwhelming. Tears welled up in my eyes. At that moment, I knew that I would be a runner for life.

Since then, I have felt that feeling over and over again. When I ran my second marathon this past fall, I made a post after the race was over commenting on how I failed to reach my goals for the race. I received a lot of supportive messages telling me to keep my chin up and that I hadn't failed, and I appreciated them all. The thing is, they were unnecessary. Failing to meet a goal is part of running; it's part of life. But failing to meet your goals cannot take that feeling away if you know you did everything you could in the pursuit of those goals.

There is a scene from one of my favourite childhood movies that summarizes this very well in my opinion. For those who haven't seen Cool Runnings, first off you should go watch it! But for context, this scene follows a question posed by Derice to his coach about why he cheated at the Olympics after already having won two gold medals.



The quote from John Candy at the end of that scene sums up the experience of running for me so well. "When you cross that finish line, you'll know." Ultimately, that's what it is about. That is why I can say I fail to accomplish a goal in a race without it being a negative. After all the miles and the hours and the sweat that are put into training, the feeling when I cross that finish line is everything. Win or lose, personal best time or not, I know that I am enough.


Weekly Summary (January 22-28)

Mon. (Lunch):    6 km [treadmill] @ 7.2-8.4 mph, 28:53, 4:48/km pace
          (Evening): 20 minute Yoga - Low Back Deep Stretch

Tue.  (Lunch):     Strength Workout - Chest/Back/Arms
         (Evening):  2 km warmup, 6x440 (86/89/91/93/90/90) w/ 440 jog, 4x200 (41/42/42/31) w/ 200 jog, 1 km cooldown                                (Workout total: 9.88 km, 54:13, 4:29/km pace)

Wed. (Evening): 20 minute Yoga - Hip Opening Deep Stretch

Thu. (Evening):  20 minute Yoga - Hip Flexors and Quads Deep Stretch

Fri. (Lunch):       Strength workout - Shoulders/Core
       (Evening):    20 minute Yoga - Hamstrings Deep Stretch

Sat.  (Morning):  10 km, 54:13, 5:25/km pace 
       (Evening):    20 minute Yoga - Neck and Shoulders Deep Stretch

Sun. (Evening):   20 minute Yoga - Chest and Back Deep Stretch


Total: 25.88 km


A pretty standard week of off-season training for me this week. I went back to the interval session on Tuesday night, and the guys continued to kick my butt. I also made it outside on Saturday morning with a friend from the running club, for what was my coldest run in about 4 years! It was a beautiful morning though, so I was very glad I got out. On the yoga front, I followed a playlist for flexibility this week and got 6 good sessions in, so I was pretty pleased with that.

That's all from me for this week; I hope you enjoyed this one. Cheers!

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